Those who catalyze grassroots movements for equity, justice, and democracy do their best work when they have healthy and durable organizational homes. How do they get there? At first, dazzling rhetoric and irresistible charisma may energize the team, hook a dream funder, or charm an influential journalist.

Eventually, however, those who seek impact pursue their work based on clear plans and plausible objectives, grounded in a common analysis of the problems their communities face and the changes they want to see. Their accomplishments will speak for themselves only if key audiences grasp them.

Elizabeth Grace Schulman
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WORDS: I can help you make the case for the resources you need. We will work together to convey, in compelling narratives, what is unique about a moment, or an opportunity. I will work with you to open the door with a new funder or help you remind a perennial foundation donor of your continuing relevance (and gratitude!). I will help your board members grasp the nuances of your programs. I love coaching. I know that the people closest to the work will, with help, articulate their vision and strategies more effectively than anyone else can, no matter which stakeholders they are trying to reach. With many of my clients, my primary goal is to make myself obsolete by building internal capacity.

NUMBERS: Budgets and financial reports express our intentions and accomplishments as clearly as our proposals and reports. Each audience we approach – funders, accountants, board members — will have different questions about the numbers. Together, we will anticipate those questions and prepare the materials to answer them. I will help you produce financial documents that are clear and transparent and that inspire confidence.

TAKING STOCK AND NAMING THE CHALLENGES: Organizations thrive when they check assumptions about how their work fits in the larger landscape of advocacy and activism or, even, in the smaller domain of their immediate institutional communities. As a sympathetic outsider, I know how to discreetly collect and synthesize constructive feedback from relevant colleagues, allies, decisionmakers, media observers, or others affected by your mission. My goal is to turn these bits of commentary into recommendations or, at least, essential insights to inform next steps.